Book 7: A New Beginning
by birchleaf66
Summary: To me, this is what a 7th book in the original Warriors series would look like. Follow Firestar and his clanmates' adventures.New calamities strike Thunderclan while Firestar finds out something horrifying about Sandstorm. All reviews are welcome!
1. Prologue

Prologue

The morning air hung frostily in the forest. Birds could be heard chirping everywhere. Dewdrops sparkled on the leaves of trees and on the grass as Firestar padded through the misty forest. The fresh air invigorated him. Stopping for a moment to check for scents, he heard the snap of a twig behind him. He spun around quickly, coming face to face with Bluestar.

"I'm not dreaming am I?" he gasped, paw hanging in mid-air.

"No, you are not. I have come to tell you a prophecy. _A hidden enemy will arrive, and none will be left alive._" She meowed gravely. "This will be a hard time for all the clans, Firestar. You will have to watch out, and be on the alert at all times."

And with that, she vanished.

"No, Bluestar! Tell me more! I don't understand!" Firestar cried out. As usual, Starclan was being vague about the prophecies.

The fiery-orange cat headed back toward camp after doing a bit of hunting. The thought of having to tell his clanmates about the grave prophecy daunted him. _Wait, maybe I won't tell them about it. This will only cause trouble. _Firestar thought


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Firestar wished to the tips of his claws that he could be freed from the terrifying news he knew. Ever since that fateful day, he had gone about his duties with a heavy heart. The other cats noticed, but kept quiet for fear of angering their clan leader. After arranging the patrols, he headed back to his den, for some quiet. Lost in his thoughts, he nearly bumped into Sandstorm.

"Hey! Watch it, you big furball!" Sandstorm gave him an affectionate lick. Noticing his morose face, she realized that something was wrong.

She shot him a concerned glance. "Is something the matter, Firestar? You look so… worried."

Only then did Firestar notice that Sandstorm was talking to him.

"N-nothing," he stammered. _Should I tell her…? _He wondered. He really could not keep in the secret any longer! He could tell her; she was a trustable cat who wouldn't go around blabbing secrets. She was also the cat he loved.

Sandstorm found a pair of emerald-green eyes staring into her own.

"I have….something very serious to tell you," he said, "but promise me you won't say it to anyone else, please?"

"S-sure," she replied, shocked by the seriousness of his words.

"Follow me," he padded off, beckoning her with his tail. Together, the pair entered Firestar's den.

"Well, what is it?"

"It's like this, Sandstorm. I met Bluestar in the forest." Sandstorm's eyes widened in shock, but he continued,"She warned me:_ A hidden enemy will arrive, and none will be left alive._ I can't help feeling that something bad is going to happen to us all."

Sandstorm's ginger pelt rippled as she shuddered violently."I hate the part about none being left alive. What's going to happen to us? Are we all really going to die?"

"I have no idea! If only Starclan would make it clear for once." He sighed in despair.

"Don't worry! I'm sure we'll get through this together."

Firestar turned towards his mate. "Thanks for listening to me."

"No problem! You must be worn out. Let's get some sleep first." She gave him a lick on the ear.

The last thing he felt before darkness engulfed him was the warm body of Sandstorm pressing against him.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was dusk by the time he finally woke up. When he went outside the den, he noticed Sandstorm and Graystripe sharing tongues.

"Firestar, over here! We saved you some freshkill." Graystripe yowled to him.

He nodded and went over to them.

"You better eat up. There's a gathering tonight, if you've forgotten." Sandstorm said.

Firestar jumped up with a start. "Oh no, I forgot! I slept the whole day and haven't even chosen who to go to this gathering! Rats!"

Graystripe chuckled in amusement. "Don't claw your fur out about it. I've already done that for you."

"Thanks. I knew I could trust my deputy. All, right then, I'm done. Let's go." Firestar abruptly got up and bounded off in the direction of Fourtrees. The rest of the Thunderclan cats streamed after him, as swift and silent as the night. Excitement mounted as they neared the sacred hollow. When they finally arrived, most of the cats slunk off to chat with cats from the other clans. With one great leap, Firestar jumped onto the Great Rock. He nodded politely to the other leaders. As he looked around, he noticed that most of the Riverclan cats seemed lethargic. That surprised him, as they were known to be sleek and healthy from the fish they ate. He shrugged. It was probably just some intestinal bug going around.

At last, the gathering started. All cats fell silent as the air filled with a loud yowl. Blackstar, leader of Shadowclan started by reporting on his clan's progress. Firestar and Tallstar, leader of Windclan, had nothing much to say either. But the whole hollow started to buzz excitedly when Leopardstar started to speak. Firestar flinched when her hoarse and raspy voice reached his ears. Something was wrong with her. He pricked up his ears attentively as she began to speak.

"Cats of all clans," she croaked,"I'm here to warn you that there is some sort of disease going around. As you can see," she broke off, as she feebly pointed a paw in the direction of her own clan,"we are not feeling very well." By the time she had finished, all the cats were staring at her fearfully. Firesatr's fur began to prickle, even though he didn't know why.

"W-what do you mean, Leopardstar?" a cat from Windclan, who Firestar recogonised asWebfoot called out, his voice full of uncertainty.

Leopardstar laughed mirthlessly. "What I mean is, you should all watch out... The gathering is now over." And with that, she weakly jumped down from the Great Rock and headed back with all her clanmates, of which most, by now, had acquired a sickly pallor.

When, all that could be seen of them was only the damage they had done to the woodland, Firestar turned to go with his clan. As they moved back, he noticed that his clanmates were unnaturally silent. He knew it was because of the shocking news which Leopardstar had let loose, but he worried for Thunderclan. What if that frightful disease was contagius? Who knew what chaos would erupt!

Just then, a thought crept into his mind. What if the foreboding news Bluestar had told him was linked to this new disease? His tensed his muscles as he realised the true extent of his departed leader's words.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When they finally set paw into Thunderclan camp, the cats who had been left behind immediately clamoured round the returning ones. The camp was full of yowls from various cats, demanding to know what had happened. Firestar was puzzled; they weren't usually this excited. However, he bounded up onto the Highrock and told them what had happened.

"Leopardstar has announced the arrival of a strange new disease which so far, has affected only Riverclan." He said this in a grave tone. The clearing quieted down, and he went on."Whenever you bring freshkill back to camp, please check it carefully for any signs of disease. At this stage, this is the only thing we can do. I'm sure you wouldn't want Thunderclan infected, right?" He meowed dryly.

Purrs of agreement erupted, and Firestar then ended the clan meeting. He padded back to his den for a good night's rest, but suddenly found Sandstorm beside him.

"You're not worried, are you?" she asked worriedly, concern sparkling in her eyes.

"Nope!" he playfully batted her whiskers. What he just said was a lie of course. He didn't want Sandstorm to be worried."Let's go to sleep. See you tomorrow!"

Firestar was up and about before dawn broke. While he was busy aranging the dawn patrols, Brambleclaw came up to him.

"Firestar, you know, about the disease Leopardstar told us about? Do you think it's serious?" he asked worriedly, whiskers twitching. Firestar was stunned for a moment. That was exactly what he was so worried about!

Regaining his composure, he answered in what he hoped was a comforting tone,"I don't think there's anything to worry about. For now, we've already stepped up precautionary measures, and I'm sure that disease isn't very dangerous."

Brambleclaw nodded, relieved. " Thanks," he meowed, and slowly padded away.

'Wait, Brambleclaw! Can you lead a dawn patrol?" he called out after Brambleclaw's retreating figure.

'Sure," he spun around, surprised that his leader would ask him.

Firestar smiled gratefully; one problem was now solved."Thanks! Report to me if you find anything ... strange."

Brambleclaw dipped his head and went off to collect more cats for the patrol. By this time, Firestar's belly was growling loudly.

'Sorry," he grimaced at Brackenfur who was staring at him. He then headed straight for the freshkill pile to grab a vole. While crunching contedly on his food, he was approached by Brambleclaw, Thornclaw and Brackenfur. He was surprised that they were so quick.

"Firestar!" they panted in a rush, " we found some strange stuff near Snakerocks; and there are Twolegs digging there!"

He stood up straight immediately. 'What do you mean?" he growled.

This time, Thornclaw answered, and he spoke slowly."There are Twolegs digging up something, near Snakerocks."

Firestar thought frantically. Could this be what Bluestar had warned him about? If so, the whole clan would be in danger!


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Where is it? Show the way." Firestar ordered in a serious tone, preparing to follow the three cats. They traversed the forest and past the Great Sycamore, each pawstep sending a fresh surge of worries into his mind. There were a lot of potential freshkill scurrying about in the undergrowth, but they had no time to stop to hunt. When they finally arrived, Firestar's eyes were met with a horrifying sight. There were twolegs and monsters littering the rocky area. They were everywhere!

"W-we were only gone for a short while, but there seems to be more of them!" Brambleclaw groaned in despair. "They won't come into our territory, will they?"

Firestar didn't seem to hear the question; his thoughts were flooding up his mind. Brambleclaw repeated his question and he finally heard it.

"I'm not sure Brambleclaw," he meowed,"but we'll have to keep an eye on them. Thornclaw, will you be able to sneak over to where they're digging to see what they're digging? I know it's dangerous, but we have to know more about this."

Thornclaw hesitated, fear glinting in his eye. But after a nudge from Brackenfur, he nodded and slunk towards the activity. From where they stood, they could see his lean and lithe figure racing towards a dense bush for cover. He then slipped out from under the bush and headed straight for the twolegs. The tall grass and large rocks prevented him from being spotted. After what seemed like an eternity, Thornclaw finally returned.

"They were digging up some strange things which looked like rocks," he said in a rush,"and they were chattering excitedly among themselves too! I...I think those objects are very valuable."

Brambleclaw sighed wearily, a grimace twisting his features.."If those objects really ARE valuable, more twolegs will probably come to dig up some more of those things. We have to stop them!"

"True," Firestar pointed out,"if those objects were in our territory, our camp may be destroyed by twolegs poking around."

The haerts of all four were weary. If the twolegs went any further into the forest, Thunderclan would be at risk. The diggings would disturb any prey and cause them to flee. The cats would then be left with nothing to eat.

"I'll tell the clan about this matter later. If Thunderclan faces danger, all cats have to know," Firestar meowed.

The other three nodded in agreement as they slowly padded back towards camp.

Brackenfur growled angrily, tail lashing furiously,"I don't see why Thunderclan has to have so many problems to deal with! First, there's a strange new disease and now this! What's going to happen next?"

Deep in his heart, Firestar found himself agreeing with the golden brown tabby tom. However, if these two problems weren't what Bluestar had warned him about, he didn't even want to think about what trouble the phropecy would mean.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Firestar summoned theClanfrom the top of Highrock.

"Cats of thunderclan, Brambleclaw, Thornclaw and Brackenfur discovered that there were many twolegs and their monsters digging near Snakerocks." he paused to let the words take effect.

All of the cats were murmuring urgently among themselves; and they glanced warily around the camp, as if afraid that there was an enemy in wait for them. Some of the kits huddled closer to their mother, Goldenflower, even though they were not old enough to understand what was going on.

Firestar tried his best to comfort them,"But I'm confident that they won't come near our camp."

"What if you're wrong?" Brightheart called fearfully, eyes darting from side to side.

"If so, we'll have to move away," Firestar hesitated before answering. He too would be at a loss as to what to do if the twolegs really invaded. He quiuckly ended the clan meeting before more cats starting hurling questions at him. He also wanted to talk to Sandstorm. But she came up to him first.

"Firestar!" she gasped,"the twolegs digging-- is that what Bluestar is warning us about?"

"I don't know actually, but it dosen't fit with what she said about a hidden enemy. We can see them digging!"

She nodded in agreement. "I just happened to think; what if the prophecy isn't about any of them? Then there'll be worse to come!" her eyes widened in terror.

"That's exactly what I've been worrying about," he confided,"the only thing we can do now is to hope."

"I'm really worried..." Sandstorm whispered quietly, and she slowly headed back towards the warriors den. Firestar's heart ached with love for her. If she felt sad, then he would feel sad too.

That night, Spottedleaf visited him in dreams. He was filled with a sense of calm when he caught sight of her sleek figure. It had been many moons since he had last seen her. She smiled encouragingly at him.

"Follow me," her voice was as soft as a passing breeze. Firestar obeyed, and he found himself padding in an open field. It was so bright he could only open his eyes a slit. There were flowers everywhere, and the grass was as tall as him!

"What is this place?" he breathed in amazement.

"A place only you can visit in your dreams..." Spottedleaf murmured softly in his ear."I have something to show you Firestar, do not be scared."

He shivered when he heard her ominous words. This was supposed to be a dream! What could he be possibly be afraid of? Unless, there was something horrible about what he would be seeing soon. All was revealed when Spottedleaf led him down a ravine. The ground was littered with dying cats, with more dead than alive. Almost all of them sported horrifying wounds, some with blood gushing out of them. Other cats' teeth had rotted away, leaving them no way to eat.

"Hungry...so hungry..." a cat next to Firestar moaned deliriously. He spun around quickly. Spottedleaf wasn't with him anymore, and he was now surrounded by the dying cats. However, Spottedleaf's voice seemed to come out of nowhere; he could still hear her quite clearly.

"Don't be afraid. This is what the prophecy meant. But with determination, you will be able to overcome this..." he could hear no more as her voice faded away.

"Wait, wait! Tell me more, Spottedleaf, don't leave me alone!" he pleaded as every trace of her voice slowly dissipated, fading away into nothingness.

"Remember what I said….."

As Firestar was about to be clawed apart by the dying cats, he woke up.

"What, what just happened?" he panted tiredly, glad to be out of his nightmare. The moss curtain covering the entrance of his den moved aside. Sandstorm's head peeked through.

"Is there anything wrong, Firestar? I could hear you wailing from outside."

Firestar lowered his head, embarrassed. "Sorry, I had a nightmare."

When Sandstorm heard that, she immediately perked up. "Was it a dream from Starclan?" she asked as she sat down next to him.

He was very shocked. Were his feelings that easy to read? "Yeah," he muttered.

"I saw lots of dead and dying cats, and there were very serious wounds on almost all of them. That was what Bluestar's prophecy meant. But she… she said it could be overcome with determination."

"Who's 'she'?" Sandstorm asked curiously.

"Sp-spottedleaf," he stammered.

Her eyes narrowed. "She still visits you, huh?" And she glared at him as she stalked off, head held high in the air.

Firestar sighed in despair. Could things get any worse?


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Firestar snarled angrily as he headed into the forest to cool off. His mind was in a whirl; there were so many problems he had to deal with. He walked and walked for a long time, and found himself near the Twoleg place.

"Firestar, Firestar!" a female cat called out.

He turned around to see Princess, his sister padding towards him.

"How have you been? You look so thin!" she cried, fussing around him.

Firestar chuckled, his anger disappearing quickly. "You call this thin? In the forest, I'm already considered quite plump." He joked.

"Don't you get enough to eat? I have a bowl of food; you can have some." She scanned his face, staring worriedly into his eyes.

For a moment, he was tempted to fill his empty belly up with food. But he shook himself, and declined her invitation.

"So, has anything happened so far?" she asked.

"Princess, there has been a disease going around. You'd better stay inside." He told her, wondering if he was right to do that.

Her eyes opened wide. "Are you okay? You haven't caught it, have you? I'll be so worried then!"

"Of course not," he hastened to assure his sister. And then he remembered the twolegs' digging incident.

"Do you know anything about the twolegs digging up stuff?" he asked her eagerly. She thought for a moment before answering.

"I think so. My owner mentioned something about fascinating artifacts and statues," she said slowly. "I'm sorry, I can't remember the rest."

Firestar could have cried out in frustration, but he tried to calm down. "Never mind, please tell me if you have any news about it."

Princess nodded. "Are you going now?"

"Yeah. See you around!" he called back over his shoulder as he disappeared into the forest. He hunted for a while before heading back to camp with a few pieces of freshkill. As he entered the camp, he noticed Sandstorm glaring at him. He made up his mind to apologize to her.

"I'm really sorry, Sandstorm." He meowed as he approached her warily. Her expression softened.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too; for kicking up such a big fuss."

He brightened. "So, you're not angry with me anymore?" She shook her head.

"Great!" he purred happily. Everything was fine now. But he couldn't shake off the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

After returning from the dusk patrol, Firestar was tired and weary; all he wanted to do was eat and sleep. However, that was not to be. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Cinderpelt urgently yowling at him to come over. She seemed to be very upset.

"What is it now?" he tried to keep his eyelids open as he padded over to her. Cinderpelt nervously shifted her paws, all the while looking down at the ground. She finally looked up.

"Firestar, I don't know how to break this to you, but….but S-sandstorm is barren….." she stammered. The camp immediately went silent. All the cats were staring at the events which were unfolding.

"Barren?! What do you mean?" Firestar shook his tiredness away, becoming instantly alert.

The dark gray she-cat answered, her voice barely a whisper, "I-it means that she can't have kits."

He reeled with shock. This wasn't supposed to happen! "Tell me, where is she now?" he urgently meowed. Cinderpelt pointed a paw in the direction of the warrior's den. Firestar took to his paws immediately. While racing towards the den, he could feel the eyes of his clanmates burning into his back. Once inside, the gloom made it hard to see.

"Sandstorm?" he mewed gently.

The sound of sobbing reached his ears. Sandstorm was curled up into a small ball at a dark corner of the den. His heart nearly broke with sadness upon seeing the once energetic and sprightly cat now crying like there was no tomorrow.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"No," she whispered, sobs racking her body.

"It's okay," Firestar struggled to find words to say, "We don't need kits to be happy."

"It just hurts so much," she meowed sadly, tears dripping onto her paws.

"I know," he replied. Minute by minute, Sandstorm's tears gradually disappeared. The two of them lay side by side, drawing comfort from the warmth they shared.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Fortunately, Sandstorm looked much better the next day. Although her face was haggard, there was at least a spark of life in her eyes. However, her mind was not very focused, as she kept on doing the wrong things. Firestar gently led her back to his den, where she immediately curled up with her tail tucked beneath her and soon fell into a deep slumber. He stood staring at her for a short while, to make sure that she was really okay. The sight of her peaceful sleep reassured him, and he quietly slipped out of the den.

After calling Sorreltail and Dustpelt to ask if they were up for a patrol, he bounded off into the misty forest, with the two warriors close behind. They went to the Sunningrocks and circled past the sandy hollow. Sorreltail suddenly stopped.

"What's that scent? It smells weird." She meowed. Firestar sniffed the air and found that she was right. As they gradually got closer to the source, they could hear a thin wailing. A flash of white among the dense bushes alerted them to what was making that horrible noise. It was a snowy white young kit, barely two moons old!

"What should we do with it?" Dustpelt asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Take it back to camp." Firestar ordered. Dustpelt whipped around to protest, but Firestar answered firmly, "it's just a pitiful young thing, it can't do anything to us.'

"Whatever is the world coming to? Kittypets everywhere," he muttered mutinously under his breath.

Firestar felt the beginnings of a snarl forming, but he managed to hold in his anger. Hissing into the dark warrior's ear, he noticed Darkstripe flinching. "Listen, I am the leader of Thunderclan, Darkstripe, and you WILL listen to me. Unless you want to challenge me, which I will gladly do so. Say one more bad word against kittypets and my claws will be shredding your face."

As they were returning towards camp with the cowed warrior behind Firestar, he asked Sorreltail, who was carrying the kit by its scruff, to hand it over to him.

"Here," she meowed, before passing the kit to his mouth. "Be careful, it's pretty heavy."

Firestar inhaled deeply. This kit smelled of berries and leaves, and underneath that, he could detect the faint scent of…..dogs? Surprised, he stopped mid-pawstep.

"What's wrong?" Sorreltail asked, worried.

"Nothing," he answered sheepishly, as he moved forwards. Behind him, Darkstripe gave a pointed snort, but Firestar ignored it. In his mind, if the kit were to be part of Thunderclan, he already knew what name he would give it. This kit would be the link joining him to Sandstorm. Even if they had no kits, they could treat this one like their own! The whiteness and purity of the kit's pelt….. He would call it Snowkit. Energy flooded his limbs as they neared the camp. Unknowingly, he had speeded up, leaving the other two warriors far behind him.

"Wait up!" Sorreltail called.

As the other two struggled to keep up with him, he heard Darkstripe muttering again. "What a showoff."

But just a hot glare from Firestar was enough to silence him. He was in too good a mood to let anything spoil it. This kit... would be everything they had wished for.

**Can you please give me any suggestions as to Snowkit's warrior name? And also, I'll be letting everyone know what the prophecy really means in the next few chapters. In the meantime, can you guess what it really is? Please review!!! Thanks:) **


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

When they had finally pushed through the bramble outer wall and into the camp, Firestar turned to Sorreltail.

"Please take this kit to the nursing den. I'm sure Ferncloud has room for another kit." Sorreltail gingerly nodded and padded off towards the den, the kit swinging from her mouth.

"As for you," Firestar meowed to Darkstripe, who was trying to slink away unnoticed, "where do you think you're going?"

The dark warrior turned around and spat angrily. "I don't need a kittypet to tell me what to do."

Firestar's eyes narrowed. He paced around Darkstripe in a circle. "What do you mean? Are you itching for a fight?"

By now, some cats had gathered around their clan leader and Darkstripe. There were a lot of excited mews about what was going on. They grew silent as the situation reached its climax.

"Anytime, _kittypet!" _Darkstripe snarled, placing a special emphasis on the word 'kittypet' before launching himself at Firestar, claws unsheathed.

Fortunately, Firestar knew what was coming and neatly side-stepped, causing Darkstripe to land in the dust. Gasps of horror arose from the watching crowd.

"They're fighting!"

"Shove over furball, I can't see!"

Firestar pounced on the dark warrior's back, holding on with his claws. Darkstripe let out an agonized screech and tried to turn over. He managed to land a scratch on Firestar's flank, but Firestar nimbly twisted and delivered a bite to his opponent's tail. Darkstripe flailed madly and Firestar managed to hold him down with a paw.

"Had enough yet?" he meowed calmly.

The fight in Darkstripe drained away suddenly. "Yes," his voice was muffled by the ground. Firestar released the panting warrior and snarled at him. "Listen Darkstripe, if you know what's good for you, you'd better not challenge me."

He then headed to his den as Darkstripe shook away dust from his fur and slipped away, embarrassed by his defeat. While padding towards his den, Firestar could feel the stare of his clanmates on his back. They were probably surprised to see their normally composed clan leader acting so aggressively. Even Firestar himself was puzzled by his behaviour.All thoughts disappeared from his mind as he curled up in his den for a short nap.

Firestar bounded out of his den, refreshed by his nap. The first thing he did was to head over to the warrior's den to look for Sandstorm. She was still huddled up in one corner.

"Hi," he meowed softly in her ear. She twitched, shook herself awake and stared up at him with round eyes.

"I heard that you fought with Darkstripe just now. What happened?" Firestar smiled. If Sandstorm could ask that kind of question, it meant that she had gotten over the fact that she was barren.

"Nothing much actually," he said hastily. "I wanted to tell you that I found a kit in the woods today." He gulped nervously. "T-that kit could be ours, if you don't mind."

He had nothing to worry about. Sandstorm sprang up, eyes shining. "Where is it?" she breathed in anticipation.

"Let's go," Firestar happily purred as they made for the nursery.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"They're so cute," Sandstorm whispered admiringly as she stared down at the three kits nestled against Ferncloud's body. Ferncloud's two kits were gray and white but the other kit stood out the most. Its bright whiteness almost seemed glitter proudly on its own. Meanwhile, Firestar gazed adoringly at the white kit which would soon be his and Sandstorm's.

"You do know we that we have to announce this?" he reminded her.

Not once did the happy sparkle in her eyes dim. She shook her head defiantly.

'I know that. Even if none of Thunderclan agrees with our decision, I won't leave my kit!" she growled fiercely. Her expression softened.

"Is it a male or a female?"

Firestar glowed in pride, "It's a male. Isn't that great? I would like to name it Snowkit, if that's okay with you." He proudly purred.

Sandstorm nodded in delight. "That name suits him perfectly! Oh, I'm so happy!" she glanced down lovingly at Snowkit once more.

"I agree. It's a beautiful name." Ferncloud, drawn from her slumber by Sandstorm's squeals, softly mewed. She shifted her position to a more comfortable one and then laid her head again, using her tail to tuck the kits in closer.

"Let's not disturb Ferncloud anymore." Firestar gently nudged Sandstorm towards the den entrance.

Sandstorm blinked as she stood in the bright sunlight. "Shall we go hunting? We haven't done that for a long time."

Firestar nodded in agreement. He was feeling a little hungry too. Furthermore, there would be a gathering later that night. He started in shock.

"Oh no! Wait here for me; I have to choose who to go to the gathering." He dashed off without waiting for her reply and soon returned.

Sandstorm meowed grouchily, "Graystripe could have done that for you."

Firestar chuckled affectionately, "Oh don't be angry. Come on, let's go."

The long shadows cast by the towering trees cooled them down after hunting. After hiding their prey under a dense bush, they settled down under an old oak to share tongues. Upon hearing a strange rustling sound in front of them, they immediately leaped up. The rustling grew louder still.

"What is it?" Firestar whispered, muscles tensed.

"I don't know," Sandstorm meowed in reply. They watched in horror as a mangled cat, half limping, half dragging itself from behind the bushes slowly made its way towards them. The pair cautiously backed off.

It looked up piteously at them before forming words with its bloodied mouth. "Help me." It was barely a whisper.

Firestar was chilled to the bone. This cat looked exactly like the ones in his dream.

He crept towards the cat slowly. A sharp meow came from his side.

"Don't go too close. This cat is diseased." Sandstorm stared uneasily at the cat's mottled pelt, now splattered with drops of blood.

Firestar hesitated, and then sniffed the air. He caught a faint scent of Riverclan. He glanced sideways at Sandstorm, and she nodded, implying that she already knew.

"This has to do with the disease Leopardstar was talking about, right?" she meowed in fear.

Firestar gulped and nodded. This cat had already confirmed his worst fears. The rest of Riverclan were probably already dead or dying.

"What shall we do with it?" Sandstorm asked. "The poor thing is already half-dead."

"I don't know. But we can be sure that Riverclan won't be turning up for the gathering tonight." He answered.

He fetched a vole for the cat, who was now lying flat upon its back, tongue lolling. All they could do was just to leave it here with something to eat, although the cat couldn't have eaten anyway, because its teeth were merely cracked stumps. The atmosphere was filled with apprehension and darkness. Something terrible was going to descend upon the clans soon, something very terrible indeed.

Sandstorm and Firestar headed back to camp, eyes bright with fear. Their hearts were heavy with the knowledge that they were all going to die soon. Tails entwined together, they struggled to keep calm. Only the gathering would reveal a clue about the troubles ahead.

"Be brave, Sandstorm," he meowed solemnly.

"You too," she replied, with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. And they continued moving, pawstep by pawstep towards their doom.


	12. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the long wait, but I've been quite busy!**

Chapter 11

All was quiet at the gathering that night. Most cats were staring up uneasily at the empty spot next to Blackstar, where Leopardstar was supposed to be. Firestar jumped up onto the Great Rock and sat there, wondering about what had happened to her.

"Firestar, since Riverclan doesn't seem to be coming for this gathering, shall we proceed first?" Tallstar whispered.

Firestar gave a nod of agreement. Tallstar then began reporting on his clan's progress, but Firestar suspected that not many were listening. After that, he also rambled on about Thunderclan, and then Blackstar took over.

"All right, as all of you know, Riverclan has recently caught a dreadful disease." Mews of fear drifted up to Firestar's ears. "What I suggest is, we stay away from Riverclan. Attack any cats that are found on your territories. That way, the disease will not be spread to us." He meowed smugly, looking down at all the ctas.

Some cats began to nod, but most of them were from Shadowclan. The other cats were murmuring among themselves, trying to decide if what Blackstar had said was a good idea or not.

"No," Firestar stood up and growled loudly, surprising himself. "Shouldn't we be trying to help Riverclan instead of going against them?" He looked down and noticed Sandstorm beaming up at him with a look of encouragement.

This time, more cats started to give mewls of agreement. Blackstar did not look so pleased.

"Only a mouse-brained kittypet would do that!" he sneered.

Firestar tried to keep down his anger, knowing that Blackstar was only trying to provoke him. He was about to speak again when there was a loud yowl of fear.

"T-there's a monster coming towards us!"

All cats started to strain with the effort at catching a glimpse of the 'monster'. Then, all hell broke loose as they recoiled at the horrifying sight. There was a cat, with wounds all over its body heading towards them. Blood was dripping from its paws and part of its jaw had rotted away, giving its face a lopsided smile. It looked like the cat he and Sandstorm had met in the forest. All three leaders tried to calm down the cats, but to no avail. Firestar bounded down from the Great Rock and called, "Thunderclan!"

His clan mates tried to head towards him, pushing against a surging tide of panicking cats. When all the Thunderclan ctas had gathered before him, Firestar turned and headed up the ravine. The clearing was now emptying rapidly. As they headed through the dark and forbidding forest, Firestar could hear frightened murmurs from a few young apprentices behind him.

"Firestar," Sandstorm meowed softly as her pelt brushed against his, "I think I know what the prophecy means- a disease."

He snapped back, "Of course I know that!"

She gave him a reproachful glare, immediately making him wish he had not been so impatient with her. She continued, "My mother once told me of a terrible disease which ravaged cats' bodies, leaving them with open wounds and barely any flesh left. In the end, most died. This disease was known as 'The Death'."

A shiver of horror went through his spine. "Is there a cure?" he managed to croak, his mouth suddenly dry.

Sandstorm laughed bitterly. "If there was one, no cats would have died."

They had finally reached Thunderclan camp, and Rainwhisker was standing in front of them. Firestar could tell, from the grim look in the young warrior's face that there was more bad news to come.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"What happened?" Firestar meowed in horror, staring around at the damaged bramble wall. Mounds of soil were piled up all over the place, and there were big holes in the ground. Rainwhisker looked terrified, and his eyes were glazed over.

"Twolegs….twolegs came…." He croaked hoarsely, slowly turning to face Firestar. He growled in shock when he spotted a deep cut on the young warrior's cheek. Firestar padded around the deserted camp. The air was thick with the scent of fear. Where had everyone gone? In the nursing den, he found Snowkit, huddled in a corner with another of Ferncloud's's kits. They were mewling in fear.

"Do you know where everyone has gone?" he dipped his head down towards the pair and gently asked them.

Moonkit squeaked, trying to stand up wobbly. "They all ran away."

Firestar was confused. "Where did they run to?" he asked again. This time, Snowkit spoke.

"Twolegs took them away." The kit mewed solemnly and stared up at Firestar, eyes unblinking.

"All of them?" Firestar breathed in horror, images of frightened cats being trapped in cages filling his mind.

"No, no. Some went to Sunningrocks." Moonkit answered. "They forgot us."

Firestar picked up the kits by the scruff of their fur and headed out. Sandstorm was still trying to get some answers out of Rainwhisker. He handed Snowkit to Sandstorm and told her what the kits had said. The three cats, with the two kits dangling from their mouths, hurried away and vanished into the stormy night.

By the time they reached Sunningrocks, all of them were drenched to their skins. Moonkit and Snowkit were shivering.

"Psst…here!" Firestar whipped around and spotted Graystripe. The gray warrior looked exhausted. The Thunderclan cats had settled down in a small cave. Each and every on e of them looked tired and weary.

"There's bad news. Mousefur. Longtail and Thornclaw were taken away by the twolegs." Graystripe sighed mournfully. "The rest of us had to escape from camp. I couldn't do anything to stop the twolegs from destroying our camp!"

Firestar meowed sadly. "Seems like they found something in our camp after all. We had better stay here for the time being." Graystripe nodded and darted off to convey the message to his clan members. Meanwhile, Firestar arranged the hunting and border patrols. After that, he was just too tired to do anything else and curled up in a corner, sleep engulfing him.

The next morning dawned bright and early. The forest shimmered with sparkling raindrops as evidence of the heavy rain which fell the night before. The freshkill pile in the middle of the cave was pitifully small. Firestar sighed in exasperation and decided to go hunting. After swiftly catching a thrush, he padded over to the Thunderclan camp. He hissed in exasperation. There were twolegs everywhere! Peering out cautiously from the grass, he noticed a shiny object lying on the ground in front of him. Scanning the surroundings, he dashed towards the object to examine it. He let out a retch of disgust, and dropped it as soon as he picked it up. It smelled of dust and twolegs. _So this is what they have been destroying our camp for,_ he thought angrily.

He could only watch on helplessly as the twolegs destroyed the camp he so loved dearly. He grasped the thrush in his mouth and bounded back to Sunningrocks. It would be many moons before the damage could be repaired.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Firestar called Cloudtail and Brackenfur over. They looked confused- they hadn't done anything wrong!

He growled in amusement. "Don't worry; I'm not going to eat you up." His expression turned serious once more. "I want you two to come on a secret mission with me."

Their eyes brightened, and the two warriors stared intently at Firestar, willing him to talk faster. "We'll be leaving at dusk, so make sure you eat some freshkill by then. Cinderpelt will give you the traveling herbs you'll need." The two of them grimaced in disgust. It was well-known that the herbs tasted bitter and nasty, although they made sure you didn't get hungry so easily, and Firestar wasn't too keen to eat them himself.

"Oh yes, and please don't tell anyone else about this. The whole clan will probably be following us to the twoleg place themselves if they heard about it." Firestar meowed over his shoulders as he padded away to find Graystripe.

He finally caught sight of his deputy amongst the cats mingling around the freshkill pile. Firestar hurriedly snatched up a magpie and bounded over to where Graystripe was.

He purred, "Whew, I thought I'll never be able to find you!"

The gray warrior looked up. "Huh? What's the matter?"

"I'll be going with Cloudtail and Brackenfur to the twoleg place to see if there's any way to help Mousefur, Longtail and Thornclaw escape."

Graystripe sprang up. "Hey, can I come too?"

"You're my deputy remember? You're supposed to take care of camp while I'm away." Firestar gently reminded him. Graystripe looked downcast.

"Darn, I forgot." He muttered under his breath.

They quickly finished their food and shared tongues. "Thanks for trusting me." Graystripe meowed. Firestar, who was just about to doze off under the soothing rasp of Graystripe's tongue, perked up again.

"Sure. I can trust you." He replied. "I have to go now; it's nearly dusk. Please help me to tell Sandstorm where I'm going."

Graystripe licked Firestar's ear. "Good luck! I hope to see you back with our missing clanmates!"

"Thanks!" Firestar meowed gratefully and headed off to find Cloudtail and Brackenfur. They were already waiting at the cave entrance.

"You're late." Cloudtail mewed good-naturedly.

"Correction- you're early. Anyway, are you two ready?"

The two warriors nodded impatiently.

"Then let's go," Firestar disappeared into the dark forest, the two warriors following him closely.

They slunk through the trees, and were soon nearing the twoleg place. The sky was totally dark now, but they could still see their path easily. The red roof of the place where the twolegs lived in quickly came into view. Firestar was suddenly struck by a forbidding thought.

"Are you sure the twolegs took them here?" he turned towards Cloudtail and asked urgently.

The white warrior's eyes widened. "Oh no! We didn't think about that."

"We'll just have to risk it then," Brackenfur meowed quietly. He stepped forward, and there was a loud snap. He screeched in agony. A steel trap had closed itself around his right fore-paw! Blood was gushing furiously out, and Brackenfur's face was twisted into a mask of pain. Firestar panicked. He had no idea how to open the trap. Luckily, Cloudtail padded over to the steel trap, and stepped on the wire which was sticking out from the trap's side. It sprang open, and Brackenfur gave a meow of relief.

"What is this trap doing here?" Cloudtail was puzzled.

Firestar had no idea himself. All thoughts disappeared and he froze as light blinded them. A twoleg had heard the loud screech and had come out to investigate.

"Quick, run!" Firestar hissed.

It was too late. The twoleg was already rushing towards them, growling furiously.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"No!" Firestar yowled. Heart thumping furiously, he sprang towards the twoleg and landed on its back. He hung on for dear life. It worked. The lumbering twoleg stopped moving towards the injured Brackenfur and instead, tried to fling Firestar off its back.

"Go for its legs, Cloudtail!" he called down to his bewildered nephew.

The white warrior nodded slowly, as if in a trance, and pounced onto the flailing twoleg's feet. He slowly clawed his way up towards its belly. All the while, Firestar could hear the twoleg screaming in pain. It shook its legs once, twice, and Cloudtail fell. Firestar gave its neck a vicious bite which made it howl.

"Are you- " Firestar's breath was knocked out of him before he could even finish his question. He looked up to see the twoleg running back towards its den. There was something standing in the doorway. Firestar peered harder, and with a shock, realized it was Mousefur!

"Mousefur!" he yowled, running towards her.

She heard him and dashed towards the opening of the twoleg's den. She slipped through its front legs and finally escaped. The twoleg roared in anger, and tried to grab her lithe body, but it was too clumsy, and missed.

"You came!" Mousefur panted, as she skidded to a halt in front of Firestar.

He nodded. "Let's go, we need to get out of here, fast. Help me to carry Brackenfur."

However, Brackenfur had already stood up, and was painstakingly limping towards his leader, with a worried Cloudtail hovering behind. The four of them slowly made their way towards a thicket of trees.

"We'll rest her tonight." Firestar meowed.

He turned to Mousefur. "Where are Longtail and Thornclaw?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea, but I think they were taken to the place beside mine."

Firestar sighed and lied down. There was nothing else they could do.

Firestar awoke at dawn. He stared for a moment at the three sleeping warriors, and padded over to Cloudtail. He nudged his nephew awake with a paw.

"Tell the others I've gone hunting." He whispered softly.

Cloudtail mewed sleepily. "Yeah, got it," and drifted off to sleep once more.

Firestar padded away, an icy cold paw gripping his heart. He wasn't going hunting; he was going to find his missing clanmates. He hadn't told the others because he didn't want them to worry. He headed determinedly towards the place where Longtail and Thornclaw were most probably kept.

All was silent. Not even a bird chirped. Firestar shivered. This place had a foreboding aura around it. He suddenly scented blood, and images of his bloody clanmates flashed through his mind.

Something leapt onto his back. It was a mangy cat. Firestar immediately rolled over and tried to shake it off. It slid off his back and dropped weakly onto the forest floor. A stench of sickness hit him. Firestar backed away and looked closely at the cat. He widened his eyes when he realized it had the strange disease too.

"Help me……" it groaned as it slowly crept towards him.

Firestar hissed in shock and sprang from its clutches. "Get away," he snarled, before bounding off into the forest once more.

He had never run so hard in his entire life. When he finally stopped, Firestar was surprised to find himself at his destination. He quietly jumped onto a ledge and peered through the clear glass in front of him, trying to spot his clanmates. He purred in delight when he finally managed to find them. They were curled up in a dark corner.

Firestar used his paws to knock the glass loudly. The two cats looked up in surprise, but the shock turned into happiness when they saw their clan leader. They dashed towards him. However, a twoleg had noticed Firestar, and it trudged over to where he was. Longtail and Thornclaw slowly backed away from the towering twoleg. Firestar leapt down from the ledge as the twoleg opened the glass window. Thornclaw, seeing his chance to escape, practically flew towards his freedom, with Longtail closely following him. As they both landed with a thump on the ground, they let out a yowl of delight.

"Follow me!" Firestar hissed and dashed into the forest. All was well again.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Cloudtail, Brackenfur and Mousefur looked up in shock when Firestar returned with their two missing clanmates tagging behind him. They stared at the returning cats one by one, and Mousefur finally growled furiously.

"Where have you been? Did you know how hard we searched for you? And then that big lump of mousedung over there," she nodded her head towards a protesting Cloudtail. "Finally tells us you went hunting!"

She narrowed her eyes. "And how in Starclan did you manage to find them?"

Firestar gulped nervously, and tried to think of how he should explain to the angry warrior. "Well," he meowed slowly, "I actually didn't go hunting; I went to look for them. I just didn't want you to be worried, that's all." He shrugged helplessly.

Mousefur relaxed her tense muscles and slunk off, muttering under her breath. "Make sure that doesn't happen again."

"Some cats," Longtail purred in amusement, "are just too hot-tempered. Anyway, can we leave now?"

Firestar nodded. "When you're all ready."

When all five cats nodded, they set off towards Thunderclan.

Longtail, Mousefur and thornclaw were shocked when Firestar led them towards Sunningrocks.

"Hey! Firestar, where are you going?" Thornclaw called out, confused.

"We're heading back to camp," he replied, and began to tell the three warriors what had happened while they were away.

At last, they reached Sunningrocks, but Thunderclan was not there. The air was thick with fear-scent.

"Where are they?" Brackenfur meowed in fear. "I smell sickness."

Firestar lifted his head and inhaled deeply. He growled in shock – it was the strange one from Riverclan!

"This is not good," he meowed grimly. "It's the terrible sickness from Riverclan. We'll have to split up and search for the clan."

Firestar bounded off in the direction of the Thunderclan camp. It appeared deserted, but he could hear faint whispers coming from the warrior's den. He entered the den, and found Sandstorm and Snowkit inside.

"Firestar, you're back!" Sandstorm yowled in delight and dashed up to him. Snowkit followed behind, mewing in excitement.

Firestar licked her ear and purred deeply. After the excitement had died down, Firestar asked, "What happened while I was away?"

Sandstorm sighed and stretched out on the cold, hard ground. "It's a long story. Twolegs came and invaded our cave. Luckily, no cats died. All of us got separated, but Snowkit and I came straight here."

"Yeah," Snowkit piped up, "It was messy."

"You stay here, I'll go look for them, and at the same time, do a bit of hunting." He ordered, and was off before Sandstorm could protest.

When he entered the familiar forest, it seemed dangerous. He shivered. There was something stalking the forest, he could feel it.

"Psst! Over here!"

Firestar jumped up in shock and turned around cautiously. There was a cat beckoning to him from behind a thicket of trees. On second glance, he realized that it was Ferncloud.

"I'm so glad to see you," she meowed.

Firestar meowed back urgently. "Listen, there's something dangerous in this forest, but I don't know what. You have to get back to Thunderclan camp. I'll escort you back myself."

A glimmer of fear entered her eye, but she hurried after him, Sharpkit dangling from her mouth. Firestar forced himself to move faster. He knew whatever was stalking the forest would not hesitate to rip him to shreds.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Once he had escorted Ferncloud back to Thunderclan camp, Firestar set off at a fast pace, with the two she-cats looking after him worriedly, the kits nestled by their side. It was near dusk, and he could already feel the air growing colder around him. Strange rustles and creaks sounded everywhere; and the dark shadows of trees covered the entire forest.

Suddenly, he froze. There was a sound of padding footsteps close behind him. Firestar hurriedly sniffed the air, trying to decide if it was friend or foe. Before he could even utter a cry, something heavy slammed into his side. The smell of rotting flesh filled his senses. His brain screamed at him to flee, but Firestar stood there, horror-struck by the image before him. It was one of the infected cats, but somehow, it looked different from the others. He suddenly realized – it was leering at him in a menacing way.

"Get away from me!" he yowled slashing at the cat while backing away at the same time.

The cat just kept moving closer. Just as it was about to pounce on him, Firestar glimpsed a flash of gray hurtling through the air and landing on the infected cat's back.

"Get away from my leader you mangled furball!"

Firestar heaved a sigh of relief – it was Graystripe! The gray warrior fiercely scored his paws on the cat's back and nimbly avoided a crushing blow. The cat was rushing around wildly, its half-crazed eyes filled with terror. Firestar batted it to the ground and pinned it down. Then, before his very eyes, it disintegrated into dust.

"Holy Starclan," Graystripe breathed in amazement, staring down at the pile of dust with round eyes.

Firestar quickly scrambled away and began scraping his paws on the bark of a tree before licking them clean. What if the dust was infectious?

"Let's find our clanmates and get out of here," he croaked.

Graystripe nodded and the two of them padded into the trees.

Not long after, they found Cinderpelt huddling under a rock with Moonkit.

"Thank Starclan you came! We were so scared." she mewed in relief. "Some cats came past just now," she wrinkled her nose in disgust, "but they smelled of crowfood."

Firestar swiftly picked up Moonkit. "Come on, what matters now is getting you back to camp safely."

The four of them headed back to Thunderclan camp. Along the way, they met more of their clanmates and soon, everybody had been found.

"Are the twolegs still digging up our camp?" Ashfur asked Firestar.

"No. So it's safe for us-"

Just as he was about to finish his sentence, a loud yowl sounded. Immediately, all the warriors pushed the young ones behind them, forming a circle. They all waited, tense, for whatever that had yowled to show itself. A stream of cats rushed towards them through the trees. Firestar stifled a gasp. It was more of the infected cats, but this time, they were bearing down on the Thunderclan cats. They surged forward, cold grimaces frozen on their faces, and Firestar realized with a shock that he could recognize some of them. Wasn't that Mosspelt over there, and Runningnose by the trees? The thunderclan cats pressed closer as their doom approached them.

Firestar fought himself fighting furiously with Webfoot. Firestar grasped the other cat by his neck fur and bit down hard, but not hard enough to kill him. Webfoot yowled in agony and flailed wildly, trying to reach Firestar. Then suddenly, he stopped struggling and lay limp in Firestar's paws. He paused, wary of a trick, but it seemed real enough. He peered down at Webfoot and found that he was unconscious. Suddenly, he opened his eyes. Firestar leapt back, snarling angrily, but Webfoot didn't attack him.

"What happened?" he asked in bewilderment as he took in the scene around him.

Firestar started in surprise. "Aren't you sick?"

"I…I can't really remember." Webfoot meowed slowly.

Firestar dragged the confused warrior away from the chaos.

"Stay here, and don't move, until you think you're ready to fight." He told Webfoot before disappearing into the thick of battle again.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

A cat pounced on his back as soon as he entered the battle. Firestar whipped around and snarled fiercely. His attacker had a glazed look in his eyes and there were bloody wounds on his flank and legs. He suspected that the battle wasn't the cause of those angry-looking boils. The other cat took the opportunity to lunge at Firestar while he was pondering. Firestar was immediately on the alert again and delivered a bite to the other's legs. He suddenly remembered that when he had bitten Webfoot on the neck, the warrior seemed to return to his normal self. Firestar scrambled behind the cat and quickly bit it on the neck.

Nothing happened. It only screeched loudly and fled. Firestar looked around. The tide of battle was fast turning. There were very few of the infected cats left. And they too, soon escaped with loud howls.

"Quick, we have to get back as fast as we can," Firestar meowed and plunged into the trees once more.

When they finally reached Thunderclan camp, Sandstorm and Ferncloud looked shocked when they noticed the weary warriors. Cinderpelt rushed towards her medicine den and yowled for the severely injured cats to be taken there.

Once all had been seen to, Sandstorm quietly padded up to Firestar. "What happened?"

"It's a long story." He replied, and continued grimly. "The sickness seems to turn cats into killers. On our way back, a group of them attacked us, and I recognized some of the cats from the other clans."

Sandtorm stretched out on the ground and sighed wearily. "This is bad news. I didn't think this would happen. Maybe the sickness has grown stronger since. It's been a long time since it struck."

Firestar perked up. "But when I bit Webfoot on the neck, he became normal again." He mewed excitedly but was somber again. "It didn't work a second time though."

"Really? At least you saved one warrior. Anyway, the gathering will be held soon. We'll find out more then." She answered.

Suddenly, something bumped into Firestar from behind. It was Snowkit, with Moonkit tagging along behind him.

"I'm going to be an apprentice soon!" he squeaked excitedly.

Firestar looked down, amused. "Who said you were?"

He looked at Sandstorm, who shrugged.

"I'm old enough!" he shot back indignantly. "And I want Moonkit to be an apprentice with me too."

They both stared up at him with pleading eyes. "Please?" They meowed.

Firestar stood up. "All right then. I think you're both old enough. If you don't bother me again, I'll hold the ceremony later."

They mewed in excitement and quickly scrambled away. "Thank you!"

"Kits," Firestar purred in amusement.

"I'm so proud of Snowkit," Sandstorm purred dreamily.

Firestar nodded in agreement. "So am I." he meowed quietly.

"I'll arrange the patrols now," he called back as he padded away.

"Ok," She replied.

After he was done with the patrols, Firestar decided to hold the apprentice ceremony. He bounded up onto the Highrock. When Snowkit and Moonkit noticed where their Clan Leader was, they hurriedly scampered over there. When all cats had gathered in the small clearing, Firestar began.

"Cats of Thunderclan, Snowkit and Moonkit have reached their sixth moon, and are now ready to become apprentices."

He jumped down from the rock. The two kits immediately bounced over to him. Their eyes were shining brightly, and they were purring with anticipation.

"Sorreltail, you will mentor Moonkit." He beckoned to her with a flick of his tail.

"You are a fierce and loyal warrior, and I hope that you will pass on everything you know to Moonpaw." He meowed.

Moonkit scampered over to her mentor and they both touched noses. Meanwhile, Snowkit was fidgeting impatiently. Firestar gave him a warning glance and continued.

"I shall mentor Snowpaw myself," he announced.

The members of the clan pressed around to congratulate the two new apprentices. He noticed that Darkstripe was staring sourly at him. Firestar ignored the surly warrior and padded towards Snowpaw.

"You'll have to learn to behave yourself." He meowed down at him.

"Sure," Snowpaw mewed, and went to look for Moonpaw.

"Snowpaw's an apprentice now." There was a hint of pride in Sandstorm's voice. "You're the best cat to mentor him."

Firestar licked her ear. "Thanks. I'm sorry I didn't give you Snowpaw to mentor, but I'll let you have the next one." He promised.

"It's okay," she replied cheerfully, and padded off.

Firestar headed back to his den for a well deserved rest.


	19. Chapter 18

**Hi! I'm sorry that I haven't been updating much. This chapter might be a little boring, but the next one is bound to be more exciting, I promise!!! Please review, I need the motivation to write. Thanks!!! **

Chapter 18

It had snowed in the morning. When Firestar stepped out of his den, he had to struggle through the snow, which was almost a tail-length deep. He sighed. There would be very little prey, seeing as it was leafbare. Through the thick morning mist, he spotted something floundering towards him. It was Snowpaw.

"I hate snow," the young cat grumbled noisily.

Firestar's eyes twinkled in amusement. "But you're named after it." He pointed out.

"Whatever," Snowpaw tried to shake the snow free from his pelt. "What will we be doing today?"

Firestar turned towards the camp entrance, with Snowpaw trying his best to follow the older warrior. "I'll take you on a tour around."

Snowpaw bounced eagerly around him. "Hurry up then!"

Firestar chuckled and they both set off into the trees. The forest looked mysteriously eerie, what with it being white and all. Suddenly, he noticed that Snowpaw had disappeared.

"Snowpaw?" He meowed, a little worried.

"Snowpaw!" He growled loudly, seeing no sign of the missing cat.

"Boo!" Snowpaw suddenly popped his head out from under the snow. "Got you worried, didn't I?"

Firestar stood over him sternly, trying his best not to laugh. "That was naughty of you." He growled. "But you've learned one important thing – how to camouflage yourself. Come on, let's move on."

They ploughed through the snow, and soon Snowpaw was gasping in exhaustion.

"Can we rest?" he whined.

Firestar shook his head firmly and they continued on, with Snowpaw muttering under his breath. They finally stopped beside a tall tree.

"What's that?" Snowpaw meowed curiously.

"That's the Great Sycamore. Big, isn't it?" Firestar replied. "Owls live here."

Snowpaw looked up at the tree and tipped his head to one side. "How would _you _know?"

Firestar pointed towards the many dead leaves under the tree. "Look under those, and see what you can find."

Snowpaw rustled among the leaves, sending them flying everywhere. He finally emerged with a dark object in his mouth.

"Yuck. This stinks like crowfood. What is it?"

"Owls can't digest food the same way we do. So, they push their prey's bones into these pellets and spit them out." Firestar purred in amusement at the disgusted look on his apprentice's face. "I played this trick on all my apprentices."

Snowpaw dropped the pellet and rushed off into the trees. Firestar bounded after him.

"Stop! You're supposed to follow me," he meowed irately when he finally caught up with Snowpaw.

Snowpaw slowed down and shuffled his paws sheepishly. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Firestar nudged him to his feet and they continued walking. "In front of us is Snakerocks. Beware, there are snakes there."

He veered to the left suddenly and Snowpaw quickly scrambled after him.

"This is the Thunderpath. What can you smell?" Firestar abruptly stopped.

Snowpaw sniffed the air carefully. "It stinks. And I can smell other cats too. Which clan are they from?"

"The cats you smell are from Shadowclan. They live on the other side of the Thunderpath." Firestar answered.

"Let's head back to Thunderclan. You must be hungry." Firestar got to his feet and padded into the trees.

"You bet!" Snowpaw mewed cheerfully as he raced past his mentor.

The freshkill pile in the middle of the clearing was pitifully small. Snowpaw picked out a small vole and then quickly dashed off to find Moonpaw. Firestar could hear them chatting excitedly about what they had done that day.

Sandstorm came up behind him. "We'll have to step up hunting patrols. There's not enough freshkill."

Firestar turned around and nodded. "I'll do that."

"Snowpaw is one very active cat." He meowed.

"That's good," Sandstorm meowed warmly. "I'm sure he'll be a great apprentice."

Firestar warned. "Don't be too sure about that though, he likes to whine too."

She twitched her tail. "Just like you,"

Firestar ran towards the direction of Sunningrocks. "Come on, let's go hunting."

Sandstorm mewed happily and they both raced out of camp.


	20. Chapter 19

**Hi!!! I'm warning all of you (especially those who chose me as a fave author/story) to block ****Author id 1334713 (Fanned Chocolate). She/he flamed my work and many others as well for no reason, and she/he may flame yours too. Anyway, sit back and enjoy this chapter: )**

Chapter 19

"Tonight's the Gathering!" Snowpaw bounced excitedly around his mentor.

Firestar meowed, amusement glimmering in his eye. "So?"

Snowpaw growled in frustration, but checked himself and stared up at Firestar with pleading eyes. "So, can I go? Pretty please?"

"Oh all right then." Firestar sighed and padded away from the wild apprentice. "Oh yes," he called back, "tell Moonpaw she can come along too."

"Thank you!" Snowpaw yowled happily before rushing off to find his friend.

Firestar chuckled and headed up to Graystripe, who was crunching on a painfully scrawny mouse.

"Hi," the gray warrior mumbled through a mouthful of freshkill. "The Gathering's tonight, or have you forgotten – _again_?"

Firestar playfully swatted at his friend's ear. They tusseled for a while, much to the amusement of their clan mates. They finally settled down.

"I don't think this will be a very good gathering." Firestar solemnly mewed to Graystripe.

His deputy nodded in agreement. "You got that right. Probably half of all their warriors ran off into the forest." He snorted.

Firestar protested. "But it wasn't their fault, was it? It was the sickness's fault." He continued, "and isn't it strange that nothing has happened to Thunderclan?"

"Yeah, very." Graystripe bobbed his head up and down. "Maybe Starclan likes us so much, they're protecting us." He joked.

Firestar glanced at his friend. "I'll go sort out tomorrow's patrols. You can take the dawn patrol."

Graystripe shrugged and settled down for a quick nap.

Yesterday's scenes replayed themselves in his mind, over and over again. Firestar shook his head to get rid of them, but to no avail. He suddenly remebered that most of the warriors they had fought with yesterday were not from any of the four clans. He was puzzled. Why were there strange cats fighting against them? He straightened up. Maybe they were the ones who had passed the sickness onto them! Firestar looked up at the pitch-black night sky, hoping that Starclan would send a sign, any sign. There was nothing. He hissed in frustration and headed off to gather his clan mates. The Gathering was going to start soon.

"Let's go." He meowed loudly and bounded into the forest, with his clan mates following closely behind.

There still seemed to be a dark presence in the forest. _Maybe those cats are lying in wait for us again, _he thought worriedly. He shook away the unnerving thought as they neared Four Trees. He squinted. He could see a black shape on The Great Rock; probably Blackstar. However, the spot where Leopardstar was supposed to be was empty.

They plunged down the ravine and into the clearing. When the Thunderclan cats noticed the decidedly empty clearing, even with two other clans there, they began to whisper excitedly into one another's ears.

"It's so empty," Graystripe whispered in Firestar's ear.

"True. Why are you whispering?" he whispered back.

Graystripe stared at him. "You're whispering too!"

Firestar meowed in amusement and leapt onto the Great Rock. Blackstar stared blankly at him when he finally noticed Firestar's presence.

"Hello." Firestar meowed cheerfully at him, trying to liven up the atmosphere.

Blackstar just sat there like a rock, unmoving.

Tallstar mewed softly to Firestar. "Leave him be. He's been like that since I came."

When it was clear that Riverclan would not be coming, Tallstar loudly meowed. "The Gathering shall begin."

All cats fell silent as they stared up at the three leaders.

"Wait!" A cat called out, rushing towards the Great Rock.

Firestar looked down. It was Mistyfoot, but she was alone. She hurriedly scrambled up onto the Great Rock.

"I'm sorry I was so late, but Leopardstar wasn't feeling well." She meowed.

Firestar nooded to show that he understood. Tallstar began.

"Recently, half of Windclan mysteriously disappeared. I have no idea where they went." He meowed.

"Half of Shadowclan disappeared too!" A Shadowclan warrior yowled.

"Nothing has happened to Thunderclan, but I think I know where the missing warriors have gone." Firestar quietly said, but it was loud enough for all cats to hear.

"Where?" Tallstar turned to him, hope blazing within his eyes.

"A few days ago, we were returning to Thunderclan camp when a group of cats attacked us. I saw some cats from Riverclan, Shadowclan and Windclan. I think they've been infected with a strange new sickness." Firestar explained.

The whole clearing broke out in excited mews. "What sickness?" A Shadowclan warrior asked.

Firestar took a deep breath and tried to explain as well as he could. "This sickness seems to turn cats into killers, though I don't know why."

Tallstar nodded gravely and turned towards the clearing. "We'll have to do something."

Blackstar broke in for the first time. "Do what?" he spat bitterly. The blank eyes now had anger burning within them. "Nothing good will come out of it!"

Firestar was startled by the venom in his voice. "There is something we can do. When I bit Webfoot on the neck," loud gasps were heard but he resolutely ignored it. "he became normal again. Maybe we can try it on other cats." He suggested.

Most cats nodded in agreement. Blackstar just glared sourly at Firestar.

Tallstar took over. "We'll have to keep a look out for any of these cats. Blackstar, do you agree with this plan?" he asked the surly black cat.

"Whatever," Blackstar growled back and turned his back on them.

Mistyfot mewed in delight. "I think it's a great idea. I'll tell Riverclan about this!"

Firestar sighed with relief. "Then, the Gathering is over."

All four cats jumped down from the Great Rock and prepared to head back to their own camps. Firestar quickly led his clan mates back to camp. He glowed inside – all their problems were now solved!

**Okay, the problems have not really been solved. It's just what Firestar thinks. I'll clean up a few things in the next chapter. Hope you like this one: ) **


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

It had been the first time in many moons that Firestar had slept properly. He woke up, feeling refreshed and energized. He padded out of his den, and looked around the almost empty clearing for Sandstorm. Shaking his head in puzzlement, he decided to go hunting. Just as he was about to step out of camp, he noticed that there was a big hole in the bramble wall that was supposed to protect the camp. An icy splinter lodged itself into his heart.

"Longtail, do you know where everyone has gone?" he meowed urgently, bounding over to where the blind cat lay.

It was only then he realized that Longtail wasn't merely sunning himself. He was dead. Blood foamed from his mouth and his eyes gazed skywards in horror. Firestar slowly backed away.

A voice made him jump. "What's wrong, Firestar?" Sandstorm stood behind him, staring at him.

Snowpaw was at her side. Both their eyes were glazed over. Firestar froze, chilled to the bone. What had happened to the both of them?

"What's wrong?"

"Everything okay?"

Firestar tried to yowl, but found he could not. He was being surrounded by his clanmates! They moved closer, eyes staring blankly at him. A few of them had bloody wounds, he noticed. Firestar glared silently at them, and suddenly dashed straight at Rainwhisker. The young warrior unsheathed his claws. Firestar pushed past him before the wicked –looking claws could get him.

"Get him," Sandstorm commanded, and sprang after him.

Firestar panted wildly, thoughts rushing through his mind. He had to get help, quick. The crashing of pawsteps behind him made him go faster. Sunningrocks loomed in the distance, and Firestar bounded straight into Riverclan territory.

While racing towards Riverclan camp, he was aware that no one was chasing him. Firestar slowed down. Something thudded into his side, knocking the breath out of him. Stormfur glared angrily at him, but calmed down when he noticed it was Firestar.

"You've come to take refuge, I suppose." The gray warrior meowed before Firestar could even say a word.

"How did you know?"

Stormfur shrugged and padded forward. "Graystripe and Ashfur are in the camp right now." He answered. "They said something about their own clanmates chasing them, and they're too shaken to tell us anything."

Firestar stopped. "It was Riverclan who caught the sickness first and passed it on to the other clans, wasn't it? Do you know what it can do?"

To his surprise, Stormfur did not get angry. "We know, and we're sorry, but what could we have done? The sickness came to us by itself."

The anger drained out of Firestar. "Just take me to your camp," he growled wearily.

Graystripe's eyes brightened when he saw Firestar. "I'm so glad you're safe!" he purred.

Ashfur looked on in amusement. A circle of Riverclan warriors surrounded them.

Firestar turned and faced Mistyfoot. "Where's Leopardstar? I need to speak with her."

Mistyfoot shook her head sadly. "She's dead."

Firestar reeled back in shock. "W-what? What happened?"

Stormfur meowed solemnly. "She died from the sickness."

Firestar turned to Mistyfoot once more. "Well, you're now leader, I suppose."

She shook her head. "Not yet,"

Firestar knew it was rude to continue, but he did it anyway. "I need your clan's help."

Graystripe stared at him in shock.

Mistyfoot nodded slowly. "I knew you would ask for help. We will help you, because we know how to get rid of the sickness."

Hope soared in Firestar's heart. "But you didn't speak of it at the Gathering."

She looked up at him. "We've only just found out. The three of you can stay here for the night. We'll go with you to Thunderclan camp tomorrow morning."

And with that, she headed back to her den. Graystripe lay down heavily, and looked at Firestar reproachfully.

"That was rude."

Firestar shrugged. "I did it for the clan."

Amusement glinted in the gray warrior's eyes, and they were soon fast asleep.

**Okay, I know this is starting to look like a scene out of a horror movie, but please, bear with me!!! As you know, this sickness turns cats into 'zombies', leaving them with festering wounds too. This may be weird, but then again, I made it up!!! **


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Firestar woke up with a dull pain in his head. He missed Sandstorm, Snowpaw and all his other clanmates. What if they remained in that zombie-like state forever? He shuddered when he thought of that. Glancing at the sleeping form of Graystripe beside him, he quietly padded out of the den. Riverclan was already up and about, and there were warriors trooping in and out, some with freshkill in their mouths. Firestar swallowed back a pang of hunger and wondered if he could take some.

"I see you're up." A cool voice sounded behind him. It was Mistyfoot.

Firestar nodded, and then hesitated. "Is it okay if I take some freshkill?"

Mistyfoot nodded and spun away, tail twitching.

He dragged a small chaffinch to an old oak tree outside Riverclan camp. After some time, Graystripe appeared, eyes still heavy with sleep.

"When are we returning to camp?" The gray warrior grumbled. "It's nearly sunhigh now."

Firestar purred in amusement. "Be patient, after all, Riverclan is the one who is helping us."

As if on cue, Mistyfoot suddenly appeared in front of them, with a few warriors behind her. The tiny band of warriors was staring at them in annoyance. Firestar and Graystripe stood up, fur ruffled uneasily. Ashfur bounded out of nowhere and joined them.

"If you're all ready, we can set off." Mistyfoot meowed coolly before turning around and heading into the forest, not even bothering to glance behind her.

Firestar stared after her. Mistyfoot seemed to have changed. She was now more serious and dignified. Shaking off his thoughts, he hurried after them.

The nearer they got to Thunderclan camp, the more nervous the cats seemed to be. Even Mistyfoot's eyes betrayed a brief glimmer of fear. But, they resolutely headed on. Firestar was glad of the company. He was also extremely grateful for Riverclan's help. _Mistyfoot will probably demand a favor from Thunderclan later on, _he thought, _just as Leopardstar would want her to._

Soon, the bramble walls of the camp came into sight. Firestar peered hard. He could see no movement, and all was quiet. They suddenly stopped.

"To get rid of the sickness, you have to get this herb," Mistyfoot showed them a dull-looking root, "into their mouths. Make sure they swallow it. The best way to do that is to force them onto the ground and shove the root in."

The roots were handed out, and they continued towards the apparently deserted camp.

"Look who we have here…." A disembodied voice sounded from the trees.

All of them froze, as a cat padded out from the dense cover of leaves. It was Mousefur. She leered wickedly at them, but her eyes were blank. Cats suddenly appeared from all sides. Firestar gulped when he realized that they were all his clanmates. The clearing suddenly exploded into battle.

Firestar pounced on a cat and tried to bat it down to the ground, just as Mistyfoot had said. He recognized it as Frostfur. She struggled wildly and tried to scratch him, but Firestar firmly held her down and used his paws to force her mouth open. Then, he quickly pushed in two roots, all the while using his front paw to cover her nose. She had no choice but to swallow. When she did, a spark of life seemed to come back into her eyes. Firestar slowly released her and half pushed her towards the medicine den.

Then, he sprang back into the confusion. After he had managed to 'cure' four more cats—Brambleclaw, Moonpaw, Longtail and Cinderpelt, he realized that it was over. The clearing was now full of half dazed cats lying all around. They soon came to their senses and looked about in confusion. Mistyfoot and her clanmates were panting with exhaustion.

Firestar immediately scrambled off to find Sandstorm and Snowpaw, who were curled up at the entrance of the camp. Sandstorm's eyes lit up when she saw Firestar.

"What happened?" she meowed.

Firestar replied, surprised. "You really don't remember anything?"

She shook her head. When he had finished telling her what had happened, she wailed in shock.

"I'm so sorry, Firestar! I didn't mean to hurt you."

He tried to comfort her. "I know, and what matters is that you and Snowpaw are safe."

They curled up tightly together. They were safe, for now.

**Sorry for the looooong wait (my exams)!!! Anyway, you may think the story is over, but it's not. Remember that Shadowclan and Windclan have yet to be cured! Hoped you enjoyed this chapter!!! ) **


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

When he finally woke up, Firestar realized that Sandstorm and Snowpaw had already disappeared, probably to hunt. He yawned and stretched, and suddenly remembered that he hadn't thanked Riverclan yet. They had done Thunderclan a great favor. After leaving Graystripe in charge, he dashed off into the forest.

Birds twittered and chirped merrily, as if nothing horrible had happened just a short while ago. The vacant faces of his clanmates still struck fear into his heart. They looked so…lifeless. He abruptly stopped. He had reached the boundary between Thunderclan and Riverclan. Looking warily around, Firestar quickly crossed the stream. There did not seem to be any Riverclan warriors around.

"Excuse me?" He called out.

The forest remained silent. Suddenly, a head popped out from behind a bush. It was a cat he recognized as Mosspelt.

She stared at him. "What do you want?"

Firestar was at a loss for words. How could he explain that he had just come to thank Mistyfoot? That was a pretty lame excuse. They would probably think that he was coming to attack them! He decided to say it anyway.

"I, er, came to thank Mistyfoot, I mean, Mistystar for what Riverclan has done for us." Firestar meowed cautiously, glancing quickly at Mosspelt to gauge her reaction.

He relaxed when the fierce glitter in her eyes softened. "I'll tell Mistystar that."

Firestar nodded his thanks and was just about to head back to camp when he turned back. "What was that root you used to cure us? I've never seen it before, and our medicine cat does not know what it is either."

"It is found only in Riverclan territory. We do not have a name for it either. Would you like some of it?" Mosspelt replied.

"Yes please." Firestar meowed.

An idea was forming in his mind. Windclan and Shadowclan were probably infected with the sickness too. The root would help them greatly.

"Wait here."

Mosspelt was back in a short while, with a huge bunch of the root in her mouth. She dropped it on the ground.

"Thank you." Firestar mewed gratefully and bent down and picked the roots up in his mouth before heading off.

When he arrived back in camp, all eyes were trained on the roots he carried in his mouth. Truth to be told, it was a very ugly-looking kind of root, with knobbly bits that poked out all over. Cinderpelt appeared at the entrance of the medicine den and stared curiously at the root. She padded over and sniffed at it.

"Looks interesting. Where did you get it?" She asked.

Firestar told her all he knew about it, and handed the whole bunch of them over to her. He then jumped onto the Highrock. There was no need to call – all the cats had already gathered at the foot of Highrock and were gazing expectantly up at him.

"Cats of Thunderclan," he began. "As you all know, you have been recently infected with a sickness."

He stopped when nervous whispering broke out among the cats. When they had settled down again, he continued. "A root which is only found in Riverclan was used to cure you. I suggest that we help Windclan and Shadowclan as well. They have been infected with the sickness too."

There were a few yowls of approvals, but the rest of the cats were muttering amongst themselves, as if they could not decide.

"Why should we help them? Only a kittypet could think of that!" Darkstripe jeered at Firestar.

He glared coldly at the dark tabby warrior before speaking again. "If we do not help them, Thunderclan will be infected again. I'm sure you don't want that, do you?"

This time, more cats were nodding their heads.

Sootfur called out. "Windclan and Shadowclan would owe us a huge favor!"

Firestar was pleased. His plan had gone well.

"Well then, I propose that we set off toward Windclan tomorrow. If we leave them infected for too long, there will be no cure for them."

All the cats mewed in approval, except for Darkstripe. He snarled angrily and stalked away, tail lashing the air angrily. Firestar was getting more and more irritated with Darkstripe. He was getting more and more unmanageable.

Snowpaw bounded over to Firestar.

"When can we resume training?" He mewed eagerly.

Firestar purred in amusement. "I teach you a few battle tricks today. You'll need them tomorrow."

Snowpaw's eyes widened. "You mean I can join in the battle? Cool!"

He scrambled off to tell Moonpaw. Firestar stared happily after his apprentice. Snowpaw was turning out to be a strong young cat.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

It was almost time to set off for Windclan. Firestar had already taught his clanmates how to shove the roots into the infected cats' mouths. Meanwhile, Snowpaw was bouncing energetically around. The white tom was busy showing the other apprentices the correct way to pin the infected cats down. Thunderclan camp had suddenly turned very busy. Everywhere he looked, Firestar could only see cats moving about. They seemed very excited about helping Windclan.

"Are you all ready?" he meowed loudly, when he noticed that almost all of his clanmates were waiting expectantly for him by the entrance.

When they nodded in unison, he signaled for them to follow him with his tail and bounded into the forest. The rest of the cats eagerly ran after him.

They soon arrived near Windclan territory. After sniffing the air deeply to make sure there weren't any Windclan cats lying in wait for them, Firestar cautiously stepped into Windclan territory. All was quiet, and even the cats behind him had stopped whispering.

Where were all the Windclan cats? They headed deeper into the gorse and finally emerged into Windclan camp. There were a few dead bodies strewn about on the ground. Firestar could hear horrified gasps behind him as they took in the morbid scene before them.

However, he was sure that not all the Windclan cats were dead. He separated his clanmates into different groups and sent them off to different places to scout for the missing cats. Snowpaw had already scrambled off with the rest of the apprentices, but Sandstorm padded up to him. She was followed by Mousefur and Thornclaw. The four of them circled the camp carefully. A movement in a dense bush caught Firestar's eye and he raised his tail to warn the others. They all tensed, hackles raised.

Suddenly, a cat burst out from the bush, lunging for them. Firestar ducked but the cat landed on Mousefur. The dusky gray warrior snarled in surprise and grappled furiously with the other cat. It was Onewhisker. Firestar immediately leapt into action and batted Onewhisker off Mousefur. The Windclan warrior rolled onto the ground, face frozen into a leering mask. Firestar shuddered inwardly. Thornclaw pinned him down and Sandstorm quickly stuffed some of the strange root into Onewhisker's mouth. The minute he swallowed a mouthful of it, he fell unconscious. They dragged him behind a bush – Firestar knew he would wake up soon.

Meanwhile, the four of them continued looking for more cats, all the while keeping very silent. In the nursing den, they found a cat crouched inside. It looked up and hissed fiercely at them. Firestar was shocked when he realized that it was Morningflower. The sweet, gentle she-cat he had known before had completely changed. Her eyes were blank, but she continued to hiss furiously and stood up. She moved slowly towards them, step by step. Firestar tried to distract her and motioned to Sandstorm with his tail to pin her down from behind. Luckily the ploy worked and Morningflower was soon unconscious.

After the exhausting encounters, they headed out of the den and into the fresh air. Outside, Firestar saw that almost all of his clanmates were gathered, with a few Windclan cats mingling with them. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Tallstar moving towards him. The Winclan leader stopped in front of him, head bowed.

"Windclan can never thank you enough for what you have done for us," he meowed softly, his voice full of gratitude.

Firestar felt a little embarrassed. "It's not a problem, really. After all, the clans should help one another."

Tallstar nodded in agreement. "True enough. Thank you, Firestar. Consider that Winclan owes you a favor."

"All right then. We'll leave now." Firestar summoned the Thunderclan cats with a flick of his tail and they hurried off back towards camp, with Windclan cats staring after them.

"That was great, Firestar!" Snowpaw purred enthusiastically. "I cured a lot of cats today."

Firestar replied, eyes shining with pride. "Good job, Snowpaw. You'll make a great warrior someday."

"Really?" Snowpaw asked. "When will I become a warrior?"

"Soon enough."


	25. Chapter 24

**Ugh!!! Where are the reviews?! I need them, so please, please review!!! Thanks in advance… Anyway, take a look at this chapter!!!**

Chapter 24

Firestar's aching muscles still reminded him of yesterday. While having a mock fight with Snowpaw, his apprentice nearly bowled him over. The white tom sat down, panting heavily.

"Hah! Got you there didn't I?" he crowed with pride.

Firestar chuckled. "Nice one, but you can do better."

After a teaching Snowpaw a few more fighting tips, he ordered his apprentice to head over to Riverclan. Snowpaw's eyes widened.

He meowed in confusion. "Whatever for? Aren't we rival clans with them?"

"Yes," Firestar replied patiently, "but in times of crisis, we all help one another. Go there and ask for more of those roots. I'm sure Mistystar will be glad to give you some."

"Sure. Luckily it's not _Leopardstar_ anymore." Snowpaw muttered under his breath as he slunk away.

As he padded towards the freshkill pile for a bite to eat, Sandstorm suddenly appeared alongside him. Firestar purred in delight.

"How's Snowpaw shaping up?" she mewed.

"He's great, really." Firestar hastened to assure her. In truth, Snowpaw was a little vain, seeing as he had a spotless white coat, but his skills were actually quite good.

Sandstorm heaved a sigh of relief. "That's great. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that Brackenfur thinks that Stripedpaw is ready to become a warrior. And I think that Rushingpaw is ready as well."

Firestar's eyes lit up. After all their troubles, clan life still went on. That was very heartening to know.

"Okay then, I'll hold their apprentice ceremonies tonight." He answered.

Sandstorm nodded before padding off. Meanwhile, Firestar continued towards the freshkill pile. While munching on a mouse, Snowpaw dashed up to him, with roots of all sizes crammed into his mouth. Snowpaw dropped them before him, his sides heaving.

"Well done. That was fast. You can go and eat now." Firestar told his exhausted apprentice.

Snowpaw nodded and gratefully headed towards the freshkill pile. Firestar watched him picking up a piece in his mouth and joining Moonpaw. Those two were becoming pretty close. When he had finished, he headed over to the Highrock to start the apprentice ceremony. He bounded up and yowled for all to gather. Once all the cats had settled down. He began to speak.

"Cats of Thunderclan, as you all know, Stripedpaw and Rushingpaw have been apprentices for a few moons. I have decided that they are both ready to receive their warrior names."

He looked on as the two apprentices stared dumbly at him, eyes wide with shock. The cats sitting beside them had to nudge them, reminding them that they were about to become warriors. Rushingpaw padded over nervously to Firestar, with Stripedpaw following close behind. Their eyes blazed with excitement as Firestar pronounced the ritual words.

"I, Firestar, leader of Thunderclan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard and have learned and understood the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you warriors."

He turned towards them. "Do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

They both trembled in anticipation as they sat there. "I do," Rushingpaw meowed solemnly.

"I do," Stripedpaw meowed steadily.

"Then by the powers of Starclan, I give you your warrior names. Stripedpaw, from this moment you will be known as Stripedface. Starclan honors your determination, and we welcome you as a full warrior of this clan." Firestar said.

He then stepped up to Stripedpaw and rested his muzzle on his head. Then, he turned towards Rushingpaw, who was fidgeting with excitement.

"Rushingpaw, from this moment you will be known as Rushingwind. Starclan honors your forethought and intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior to this clan." Firestar too rested his muzzle on Rushingwind's head.

After Rushingwind had licked his shoulder respectfully, the watching cats raised their voices to chant the new warriors' names. "Stripedface! Rushingwind!" They pressed close to them, congratulating them and wishing them well. Their mentors stood alongside them, eyes glimmering with pride. Firestar looked on proudly. There were two new warriors in Thunderclan.

As he passed by them, Firestar meowed. "Remember, you two have to keep vigil tonight."

They nodded in unison, eyes alight with happiness. After the exhausting ritual, Firestar padded into his den and succumbed to sleep. Today truly was a happy one.


	26. Chapter 25

**Hi! This will probably be the last chapter for the story. I hope you've enjoyed it. Keep your eyes peeled for the next one: Book 8: Origins!!! Anyway, read on….**

Chapter 25

Firestar woke up with a start. He suddenly remembered that he had to head over to Shadowclan. He wondered how they were doing. Anyway, those mangy lumps of furballs weren't probably worth saving – they would snap back at Thunderclan once they were well again. Firestar padded out of his den, shaking his head to rid himself of the disturbing thoughts. It was still quite early, and the freshkill pile looked pitifully small, seeing as it was leafbare. This wasn't good. He wanted all warriors to feed well before going off. It would be a long and hard battle to rid Shadowclan of the sickness.

He went out to hunt. Snow covered the ground, and it was very cold. He stopped to listen, and his ears pricked up when he heard a mouse scrabbling around in the tree roots. He peered inside the darkness and once he had pinpointed the mouse's location, he pounced on it. His lip curled in disgust. It was scrawny, with little flesh on it. But it would do. He buried it carefully before going off to hunt again.

When he finally returned to camp, he was pleased to see warriors up and about. He carried his catch over to the freshkill pile – a mouse and two chaffinches. After picking out a thrush for himself, he settled down near his den to observe the coming and goings of his Clan. He made sure that all his warriors ate a little before the huge task that lay before them. Once everyone was ready, he plunged into the forest, Thunderclan hot on his heels. Luckily, there was still quite a bit of the root left over. There would be enough for Shadowclan.

"Do you remember what you have to do?" He called back over his shoulder, and was satisfied when they a murmur of agreement reached him. He scanned the surroundings. They were getting closer to Shadowclan territory. The stink of exhaust made him wrinkle his nose. They would have to cross the Thunderpath to get there. It would be very dangerous. When they reached the edge of the Thunderpath, he stopped.

Turning around to face the Clan, he meowed, "We will cross in pairs. Brackenfur and Graystripe, you'll go first." He nodded towards the two closest cats. "The rest of you, wait for your turn."

Once he had ensured that everyone had reached the other side safely, he bounded across the hard surface of the Thunderpath. He led them through a tunnel he and Graystripe had discovered many moons before. The Thunderclan cats pressed close together. For some, it was their fist time setting foot onto Shadowclan territory. Firestar ran quickly over the marshy ground, all the while trying to keep his pawsteps silent. He didn't feel very comfortable in the dark and marshy Shadowclan camp. The sooner they got out here, the better. All seemed quiet. Firestar groaned inwardly. The pressure of not knowing when he would be attacked was taking a toll on him. He signaled for warriors to move off in pairs.

He paired up with Sandstorm and together, they circled the camp, peering warily into thick bushes, to check if there were any cats hiding there. Their careful searching finally paid off. They found a sleeping warrior in a gorse bush. Firestar was a little confused. All the sick cats they had encountered so far were all awake. He flicked his tail at sandstorm, warning her to stay behind him. She backed off and looked on anxiously. He steadied himself and pounced onto the sleeping cat, trying to shake him awake. His plan worked. The warrior awoke with a ferocious yowl and turned on him, eyes blazing furiously. Firestar grappled with him, and finally managed to pin him down. Once he had swallowed some of the root, the warrior blacked out. Firestar and Sandstrom managed to drag him out into the middle of the camp. It seemed that their job was done.

After a thorough search of camp's surrounding area turned up nothing, Firestar heaved a huge sigh of relief. It was as if a heavy weight had been lifted off from his chest. Miraculously, all four clans had survived the sickness. All around him, Thunderclan warriors were rejoicing. Some of the Shadowclan cats were also starting to wake up. Firestar took one last look at them before he headed back home.

**Well, I guess that's it then! I thought it was best to end with a happy ending. See you next time!!!**


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